Brake-beam.



o. vP. HUNTooN.

"BRAKE BEAM.

Patented Nov.s,1910.

Y APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, 1909. BENBWED JULY 22, 1910;

lllll.. llllllll Tit CHARLES FRAN CIS HUNTOON,

or CHICAGO, rumors, -essrenon To Hauer nl i LAUGHLIN, OF CHICAGO, LLINOIS.

BRAKE-BEAM.

' Appnction met July 15, 190e, serial No.

Y To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known `that I, CHARLES FRANCIS HUNTooN, a citizen of the United States, residing at city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State 'of Illinois, have invented certain `nevv and useful Improvements in t Brake'- Beams, cation.

, This invention relatesto improvements in brake beams and has among its salient obofwhich the following is/a speciiijects to' orovide a construction inwhich the parts su ject tothe greatest stresses are so formed as to secure maximum strength combined with simplicit of form; to provide a construction of the aybove character having a single pieceiunitary .strut member thus securing maximum' strength in a part of the beam subject to severe stresses, which at the sameftime permits the use of aanged uni' taryy tension member; to provide in a constructionfof the character referred to simple and effective means for loclringithe tension member to the strut member; to provide a construction which may be assembled with the greatest facility and in which at the same time the main members thereof may be v.la brakebeam embodving a preferred form 2 is a fragmentaryv `rigidly locked together; and in general to provide an improved character referred' to.

In the drawings Figure l is a plan view of construction of the of my invention; Fig.

- perspective vien7 showing more particularly thebrake shoe spective ends ofthe beam.

the construction of the strut member.- Fig.

l3 is an end elevation of the beam, part of the tension member being shown in section. Fig.

.45, is a horizontal detail View :showing the manner of locking the tension member to the strut. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail view vshowing the construction of the' locking block. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the tension memthe iianged compression member, 2 the tension member', 3 the strut member and 4, 4

heads mounted upon the re- In the preferred construction shown, the

'compression memberis of channel shape in cross section having lts main web vertically and slightly cambered or bent as shownin Fig. 1. takes the form o? a'flat stra like bar and has end portions shown inwotted lines in Specification of Letters Patent.

he tension member 2 preferably Patented Nov.. 8, wir).

507,793. 'Reneweduly 22, 1910. erial No. 573,2.'

Fig. l and which are bent so as to lie flat- Wise Within the ends of the channel member for a length corres ondin to the width of the brake shoe' hea Eae `end of the tension member Qterminat in a headed portion 5 so forged upon said member as to provide out-standing shoulders 7, 8 and 9 upon three sides thereof. The laterahwidth of the shoulders 7, 8 and 9 correspond substantially to the thickness' ofthe corresponding portions ot the compression member l against which they abut, so that When the tension member is in place inthe compres sion member, it has fuli bearing against the ends of the latter but nevertheless permits the brake shoe earsi to be slipped into position. The'ianged ends of the tension member prevent the latter from' having endwise movement relative to the compression member when the said parts are in assembled position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the compression and tension Vmembers are so constructed as to' provide increased cross sectional strength at the point Where the shearing stresses between the end of the compression member and the head of the tension member occurs.` i

As an important feature of the present invention the"tenysion member is united to a single piece or unitar strut member thus increasing the lstrengt of the beam as a whole. Heretofore in uniting a tension member of this character'to a strut member -it has been necessary to make the latter of two part construction creasing the strength of vevere stresses;

In'the present invention the strut member @f5 is of general skeleton likeconstruction hav- `ing a closed socket lmember 10 adapted to receive the journalcompression member as shown more. clearly iii-Fig. 2. This socket .In the drawings 1 designates as a Whole` member 10 is 'ormed'or cast integrally with the main bod ,of the strutand is rpre erably Webs 10. The

provided Wit strengthening strut 1s as usual provided with the bearin 11 and 12 to receive the brake levers an with the supporting brackets 13 provided ,with the connecting eyes 14. The tension member 2 engages or sont 15 formed This seat is sectional area than at its center a closed eye in the front end of the of a considerably reet-er the main body of t e tenvsign member in order to permit the enlarged' thus obviously dea part of the beamf which is especially subject to s ends of the latter to pass through the eye lo in assembling the beam. The tension member is locked in centered position within the seat l5 by means of a locking block designated as a Whole 16. This block is of generally skeleton like construction as shown in Fig. 5 and is provided with a curved or fixed outer face conforming generally to the inner anale of the tensin member. This block is locIred in position by means of a through bolt or pin 17 extending' through suitable apertures formed in the upper and lower faces of the block and strut member respectively. The bolt is preferably contined in position by means of a cotter pin. 18 as shown.

In assembling the beam the compression member is first slipped through the closed F The tension member is then connected to the strut by turning the former tlatwise in order to permit its enlarged headt to pass through the closed eye 1G. Before the tension member 2 reaches its centered position the locking block 1G is seated in the inner angle of the former whereupon the bloclt may be readily slipped into the seat 15. The bolt 17 is then slipped into position and locked to the block by means ot thc cotter pin 18. The ends of the tension member and the brake heads 4 may then be united to th'e compression member.

'From tl1c.t'oregoi11g it will be seen that I secure' the objects of the invention in a simple and efficient manner. The construction here shown may be obviously more or less modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a trussed brake beam, the combination with a flanged compression member, o't' a unitary strut member having a closed eye at its front end, a tension member having its end portions brought alongside o t `the web and flange portions of the compression member and meansvfor locking the Atension member to the strut member comprising a locking block seated in the closed eye of the tion with a compression member, of a strutl member united thereto and having a closed eye at one end thereof, a tension member extending through said eye and having enlarged end portions connected to the compression member, a movable locking block seated in said eye and abutting against: the inner face of the tension member and means for locking said lock in position.

3. In a trussed brake beam, the combination with a compression member, of a strut member united thereto and having a closed seat or' eye portion to receive the tension member, a tension member extending through said eye portion and having enlarged ends connected to the compressionmember and ber to the strut.

t. In a trussed brake beam, the combination with a compression member of channel shape in cross section, of a tension member having end portions approximately conforming to and lying within the end portions of said compression member and provided at .its ends with laterally enlarged heads to overlap the end surfaces of the compression members, a 'unitary strut member united at one end to the compression member and provided at its lother with a closed eye adapted to receive the tension member. i'

5.- In a trussed brake beam, the combination with a compression member, of a tension member having enlarged end portions, a unitary vstrut member connected to the compression member at one end and having a closed eye at its other to receive the tension member, and means for locking the tension member to said strut member. L

CHARLES FRANCIS HUNTOON. Witnesses: y

FRANK L. BELKNAP, ANNA O limnf 

